There’s always been crap jobs but I reckon the modern world has created one or two that are absolute stinkers…..

I’m currently sitting in Northampton services drinking coffee (long day) and over to my right is the entrance to the bogs. The last kiosk before the bogs is ‘Fone Bitz’, you know, selling phone cases, cables etc.
The poor bloke in there looks like he’s about to hang himself, so that got me thinking – 50% of the people passing him are on their way to the loo. They ain’t gonna stop. The others are either leaving the loo or waiting for their partner, mate or kids to come out of the loo before they rush off.together
So he sits there all day, no one to talk to, listening to hand dryers and watching people rush past. His best form of light relief is if someone is at turtle head point and waddles past red faced and trumping furiously. That might raise a smile. Anyone that does stop to look at his wares will know they can get the same cheaper off eBay. Even the Maccy Ds staff have someone to talk to, but you see these unfortunate individuals all round the county, sitting next to the bogs, dejected, selling plastic crap.
Is there a worse job the modern world had created? I think not.

Cleaning the bogs next door is probably a worse job.

Did you go and talk to him?

Wanna buy a phone case?

I’ve just had someone from O2 ring me up to try and flog me an upgraded phone contract for daughter number 2. I imagine she was sat in a cubicle in some soulless battery farm in an industrial estate somewhere grim, and that most people weren’t appreciative of the call

That must be a pretty soul-destroying job.

All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes….

Dunno. I’ve just finished day 2 of 3 creosoting a 25m high WW2 vintage timber tower.
Reckon it’s the worst job I’ve ever done, even worse than the time I spent in a drop forging place in Dudley.

In terms of jobs that didn’t exist until the modern era, sorting recyclables from landfill rubbish has to rank among the rankest, I’d imagine.

Agree with Binners

Having worked in call centres i’d happily do any of the other jobs noted above before ever going back in one

sorting recyclables from landfill rubbish has to rank among the rankest

Quite a few of my team have been doing this for 12 hrs a day since June…

Moving threads from bike to chat,that must really suck.

That might raise a smile. Anyone that does stop to look at his wares will know they can get the same cheaper off eBay.

i bought an iphone lead there. no plug just the cable. knock off one of course. wanna guess the price.

£25. 😥

not only did i get to the weekend away and realise that 3 other people had them but i also went to tescos later the same day – they are probably a fiver.

back on topic:

At work theres a guy who sits in a tiny portakabin to greet drivers to the construction site. (receptionist?) on his own – all day long. there really isn’t a lot of site traffic at the moment – couple of trucks a day if that!

The poor bloke in there looks like he’s about to hang himself,

same look.

Emptying/cleaning the Glastonbury Festival toilets.

Handling dirty crap all day is never going to be but those guys in the kiosks just look like they’ve given up.
How do they make any money at all?

We used to have a guy trying to sell double glazing at the front of the big DIY store I worked in. Nice enough bloke but that had to suck. He explained he got a few quid for each address he got for someone to follow up and a bit more if they made an appointment. Did it for ages at our store so must have paid a wage but I just couldn’t do it.

I did a summer job in a local factory who made the cream cakes for Tesco (very very clean) and worked in the packing dept for a day. One of the ladies there said she’d been there 8 years or something. I was bored sick only doing their job for one day but when she said “only 36 years to go!” I stopped feeling sorry for myself.

It’s not the job itself, it’s the absence of hope that does it. But I’d do any job rather than be unemployed.

The poor bloke in there looks like he’s about to hang himself,

The poor folks standing on the phone advert/sales stand in the First lounge at T5 a few months ago had the same look. While standing there bored as not one single person showed an interest, they had to watch asshats like me quaffing fizz!

Totally agree with that robdob. It’d have to be pretty bad to be worse than unemployment, which is just utterly soul-destroying

Teacher

My jobs pretty dull, printing. Still some of the staff make it bearable as they are very leftfield. Sometimes it’s so boring it makes you tired, plus no chance of bettering yourself. Sounds like I need to brush up my CV!!

Worst job I had was being a xmas temp in Next, I used to press the talking clock button at minute intervals.

You’ve probably nailed it in the OP. Although only plus in that job is no close management oversight / whipping.

I’d say there may by worse in direct door to door sales. Sort of same isolation but with more door slamming and abuse.

I **** hated my job in a plastics factory standing next to injection moulding machines putting stacking buckets or whatever other **** piece of plastic **** came out the **** machine.

Dunno about the unemployed thing. I mean, assuming you’ve got the nous to do something… read, listen to music, educate yourself etc. It’s only societal pressure that says you’re a loser unless you are employed. I’m not promoting it as a way of life. But I think I’d rather be on the dole for a year and improve myself to the degree that I’d get further than if I’d spent a year in some shite job coming home knackered and bitter every night.

That must be a pretty soul-destroying job.

All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes….

Worse must be the poor woman who has to say that phrase to every caller before forwarding their call.

Moving threads from bike to chat,that must really suck.

You have no idea.

Totally agree with that robdob. It’d have to be pretty bad to be worse than unemployment, which is just utterly soul-destroying

Ohh I dunno. I managed nearly 3 months and it was great. I’d have been annoyed if I’d not got a job after 6 months, but I wasn’t expecting to get a job until spring (out of work at Christmas) and I ha e loved another month off!

Call centres and double glazing sales sounds bad though. Fair points.

Cleaning the bogs next door is probably a worse job.

I don’t think it is. At least you get to walk around and clean the whole place and see the result of your work.

Drafting a bin lorry one hot summer afternoon had me wondering who has to get in the back with the spanners if the compacter jams.

I’m currently sitting in Northampton services drinking coffee (long day) and over to my right is the entrance to the bogs. The last kiosk before the bogs is ‘Fone Bitz’, you know, selling phone cases, cables etc.

Sunday Times had an interview with Mr Timpson, of the Timpson chain, and he said the best two places for their shops was nr McDonalds and nr Toilets, cheap rent and lots of passing people…..

But I’d do any job rather than be unemployed.

3 words…

Call. Of. Duty.

😉

Joking aside being unemployed sucks for various reasons, but being stuck in a job you despise and can’t see any way out of sucks even more!

I’ve done some pretty effing terrible temp jobs over the years, being told to wear a suit so I could wash cars for Enterprise Rent a Car took the biscuit mind! Anything that is infinitely repetitive too, especially working on a machine in a factory packing boxes, for 12hr shifts!

I’m with those saying call centre workers though, high pressure sales job selling crap nobody wants, working from a script, for minimum wage with the carrot dangled of a tiny performance bonus if the whole team hits target. The constant rejection would, I think, get me to the point of being suicidal I’m sure!

I’d rather have the phone case job than being the driver of the Andyloos truck that comes round to empty the rows of bogs at festivals then go along the row and clean them out and replace the bog rolls etc.
Festival bogs, with lots of beer and ‘interesting’ diet?
Also, multidrop courier driver. Not. On. Your. Life.

I’ve done some pretty effing terrible temp jobs over the years,

mate of mine jobbed as one of those guys you see in pubs sometimes, selling cockles and mussels (alive alive-o) from a tray.

I packed bananas for a month. All I did was lift bunches of bananas and hang them on a string, while getting heckled by the lads who chopped the bananas into the mini bunches you see in the shop. I never realized bananas come in bunches as tall as my waist.

It was almost ok for a month, but the repetition of doing it for a life time- there was nothing else in that town other than bananas…

I worked in a coffee packing factory for three hours a night three days a week. It was mind numbingly boring. Blokes had been doing it all day for 10 plus years.

I remember them saying to me “get qualified or you will end up like us.” Quite sad really.

Call centre chimp, is did it for 18 months same 5 questions to stressed out, tired people in the middle of moving house, every 5 mins for 8 hours. It was easy, but it sent me completely and utterly mad to the point I’d wake up screaming thinking I was surrounded by strangers all staring at me with their mouths open but instead of talking the noise the phone made when a call came through would come out. I heard the same noise a few months ago and I shuddered and felt sick – I stopped working there in 1999.

My Brother in Law works in Amazon marching around a massive warehouse all day at the beck and call of a PDA device giving them directions, but the money isn’t appalling and there’s a good criac amongst the workers, he says it’s not a job you can do for years, but it’s and easy job to get, it’s honest and it proves to a better employer you can work.

Cleaning the bogs next door is probably a worse job.

Peterpoddy beat me to it. I’d take the cleaning job hands down. At least there is a bit of job satisfaction and keep your mind busy to pass the day! I think I’d take virtually any job over a boring job. Except perhaps a hitman…

Totally agree with that robdob. It’d have to be pretty bad to be worse than unemployment, which is just utterly soul-destroying

Depends, if I have money to keep myself going it’s not that bad – I have interest that I could potentially use to make money.

Why limit yourself to a 9-5 all the time?

I think I’d take virtually any job over a boring job. Except perhaps a hitman…

It’s not as bad as people make out, you know.

One particular job that I’ve only seen in the modern world. Ie; after the fun stopped in the late 90’s is that of the nightclub toilet attendant/aftershave waller. My god, could there ever be a more hideous occupation?

One particular job that I’ve only seen in the modern world. Ie; after the fun stopped in the late 90’s is that of the nightclub toilet attendant/aftershave waller. My god, could there ever be a more hideous occupa

I think as long as you can handle pissheads (a skill and a talent in itself) i think it could be okay. I assume it’s self-employed.

Picture the scene

It’s January & air tempreture in the Highland sea lochs is ooh around 5 degrees , the rain is lashing down & you are in an open boat heading out ready to start your day of diving 30m down into a salmon farm cage net.

Water tempreture is a balmy 7.5 degrees & when you reach the bottom of the net , your job is to start loading rotten salmon corpses into a basket. As you pick them up, your gloved fingers squdge through the rancid decomposing flesh & an oily acrid secretion envelopes your being & sticking to your dry suit.

Thankfully for once the waining of the sands of time are on your side as you are limited in your dive time. Unfortunatley as you leave the water you have to pass through the film of scum on the surface generated by your labours & ensures that you aint getting a cuddle when you get back onboard. Never mind only another 11 to go.

Yes I’m sure there are worse jobs out there, but after witnesing this at first hand. It’s kinda hard to belive.

I don’t know, at least as said with some awful jobs, you’re doing something. Lonely and doing nothing is soul destroying.

I’d rather have the phone case job than being the driver of the Andyloos truck

Rubbish name. The company round here that does that is callled ‘W.C. in Fields’

Working for a web agency. Time is money at a web agency. You’re unquestionably out of time no matter what at a web agency, that’s a given. You’re probably out of money because of the wicked alcohol/barbiturate addiction you’ve undoubtedly developed in to get you to sleep at night.